MOSCOW (Sputnik) — A new bulletproof vest, dubbed the Gusar-TV, has been developed in Russia specially for journalists, a representative of the company that developed the product told journalists on Wednesday.
"In connection with the aggravated situation in the world, more and more journalists' lives are being put in danger. They are a visible target for the opposing sides of a military conflict who do not want the fighting to be covered by the media. That is why we have developed a bulletproof vest "Gusar-TV," which differs from the equipment used by the armed forces and the police on a range of characteristics," FORT Technology's Igor Sidorov said.
According to Sidorov, the new equipment, coloured in inconspicuous grey, will enable press workers to blend in fighting. The vest can withstand up to 13 hits from a Dragunov sniper rifle (SVD), or from projectiles flying at a speed of up to 1.5 kilometres (0.9 miles) per second.
According to the first secretary of Moscow’s Journalists Union, Lyudmila Scherbina, some 300 Russian journalists have been killed while on duty since the late 1990s.
